Successful freelancers know that time is money. Efficient task and time management are the key factors for freelancers. One freelancer may simultaneously lead several projects, need to communicate with a dozen of clients, and have numerous deadlines to hit. To turn freelance chaos into prioritized work order, there are many project management tools in the getting things done software market.

However, most project management tools are expensive or don’t meet freelance needs. Let’s face the truth: the majority of freelancers are budget-limited, work in small teams with multiple clients located worldwide, or are scattered all over the country. Thus, freelancers want cheap, ideally free, highly customizable project management solutions for efficient team-working.

Collabtive is a web-based open source project management suite. A quick look inside shows that Collabtive has all the basic features: milestones, task management, time tracking, calendar. Moreover, you can import Basecamp projects and get RSS updates. Laconic, clean interface can be enriched by paid plugins provided by the vendor.

GanttProject is a free cross-platform project management tool. If you are a Gantt chart addict, than give a try to GanttProject. You can set milestones, plan resources, measure results, make reports and share projects.

phpCollab is a customizable open source team-working solution. You can manage projects, set tasks, view milestones. Launched in 2002, phpCollab stands out for sufficient online collaboration tools such as discussions, notifications, support requests.

phpEasyProject is invented for small teams. Though the interface is incredibly simple and clean, all the basic collaboration features are packed. You can create projects, set up tasks and manage to-do list. Dotproject includes a report export feature and performance statistics. So you can keep track of all current team activity.

Project.net describes itself as enterprise-level project management software with open code. You can manage projects, collaborate, and use social sharing tools within your team. To tack projects easier, try project templates and dashboards. Besides, Project.net offers paid services like training or top-priority support so you can migrate to the new project management system smoothly.

]project-open[ is more than just a project management suite. It claims to cover related business areas like CRM, invoicing and payments. Standing close to ERP software, ]project-open[ performs all basic project management tasks. You can manage projects, assign tasks, generate reports and track overall results.

Redmine is a flexible web-platform for project management. Redmine is based on Ruby on Rails framework and has multiple database support: Postgre SQL, SQLite and MySQL. The application is multilingual and available in more than 30 languages. Redmine provides users with Gantt chart, calendar, time tracking features which are essential for project planning.

TaskJuggler is project management software for serious project managers as it’s written on the website. No matter how serious you are, TaskHuggler will help you to manage tasks, project files, analyze project performance. The data is presented in dashboards and charts so you can have all info at your hand.

Teamlab is a A-grade free project management software. It has 4 modules: project management, business collaboration, documents processing and instant messaging. You can set tasks, milestones, track project activity and generate reports, share bookmarks and wiki pages with your colleagues, keep your teammates up to date with news and even create a poll. Teamlab has a fully featured document management suite. Users can edit, store and share documents right on the corporate portal. Thus you can get rid of Google Docs or Dropbox/Box.net file uploads.

WebCollab is online collaboration platform suitable for freelancers. You can make to-do lists, manage tasks via calendar, and manage projects. WeCollab supports social activity. You can post messages in forums or add new contacts or files for further team work.